NAY PYI TAW, Myanmar – President Duterte has a very strong, positive image among Myanmar people and they believe that Filipinos are lucky to have someone like him who would lead the country, according to an accomplished writer in the Philippines who is now based here.
“When President Duterte got elected suddenly, our being Filipinos in Myanmar mattered,” said Jose Dennis Teodosio who now works as a consultant for creative services, scriptwriting, and training at the Myanmar Media Development Center.
According to Teodosio, whenever ride a taxi in Myanmar, the driver would always ask if they are from the Philippines.
“When we say “yes,” the driver would say, “Ah Duterte,” he said, “To make sure that we get to compliment their recognition of the President, we ask them how come they know about Duterte. And then they said, “He is a strong man.
His words are powerful and he is not afraid of anyone.”
Teodosio said these impressions by the people from Myanmar make them feel proud to some extent. But as an Overseas Filipino Worker based here, he said he thinks it is very important that Duterte gets to “live with the expectations of everyone, not alone the Filipinos from the Philippines but also the Filipinos based in other countries.”
“So when we heard he was coming, we didn’t know how to react because we thought he had no chance to stop by Myanmar,” he said. “And then we were surprised, weeks before his arrival, people are saying, “your President will be here.” (Roy C. Mabasa)
